A/N: Here's chapter 7! PLZ ENJOY ;3

"Hey Kizami, you should take a break. Warm up your voice so that it doesn't sound so shaky during the chorus," I said, lowering the volume on his mic but not so low that I couldn't hear him. Kizami adjusted his headphones. "Hold on, I can still keep going! There's only about half an hour left of my session!" he complained. Geez, always overdoing it like that will take a toll on him one day. I mean, he's definitely talented. With this record, he'll definitely be able to release his debut album. That's easier said than done, though. Poor guy needs to learn to take a break every now and then. Too bad he's so stubborn though.

"Alright," I said, giving up. "One more go, but after that you need to take a little vocal break," I said. He agreed, so I played the pop track one more time.

*KNOCK KNOCK!*

I was so surprised that I had to stop the record, confusing Kizami. "Sorry," I said. "Someone just knocked. Now you have to take a break." Kizami rolled his eyes. "Fine," he groaned out eventually and took off his headphones. "Come in!" I yelled to whoever was behind the door. The door opened, and to my shock and fear, Mochida was standing there.

"Kishinuma!"

He said excitedly and smiled. Well … There's no way he busted me and Ayumi with that attitude, so I could relax a bit more. I still don't know why he came to meet me unannounced. Especially not at my workplace.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting," he said. "Nah, it's nothing," I said, already feeling Kizami's eyes of steel pierce me from behind. "When are you getting off work?" he asked. "In about 30 minutes. Why?" I asked, honestly knowing what he was going to ask me next. "Do you have some time after work? I'd love to hang out with you actually," he said. Damn it. I knew it. He really did find out, didn't he? "…Yeah, sure. Please, go ahead and wait here," I said, showing him the couch right by my desk with the audio buttons, controls and computers. He politely sat down and seemed genuinely interested in what we were doing. Well … That's nice, I guess.

"You ready, Kizami?" I asked while I sat at the other side of the window. He gave me a thumbs up, so I started the music one last time. I just remember that it went well. Anything more than that …? I can't remember. I was scared for my life. Love life, to be exact.

"Yeah, Ayumi told me about where you work, so … Sorry if I looked like a creep visiting you like that," Mochida said, circling his index finger around his coffee cup. He has the same taste as me. He takes it black. Nothing else. He has some nerve though, taking me to the same café where I met my ex-girlfriend for the first time in a while. Although, I guess he doesn't know that we used to be together. Luckily.

"Don't worry about it. I was just surprised," I said. He sighed in relief. "That's good. You're a rational guy, Kishinuma," he complimented me, smiling. He freaks me out. There's no way anyone just freely gives out compliments like that without being secretly psychotic. I don't mind this for now, though.

"Um … Y'know, Ayumi never told me how you two met," I mentioned, nervous. He didn't know that we were exes, so it would've been fine if I asked him. It still felt weird though, almost like I broke a rule. His head perked up. "Oh really? I thought you guys used to be pretty close," he said. Shit. So he has some idea. "Well yeah, but we've had our differences in the past," I said, vaguely on purpose. He had a sip and started talking, not hesitating one bit.

"I met her during my first year in university. I was alone and couldn't really talk to anyone. One day I just got talking with another girl who looked pretty alone too. From then on, we just got along really well and started dating pretty quickly. Things just escalated from there."

Mochida's eyes glimmered in the light, making my throat burn in annoyance and guilt. No matter the torturing moves I fantasized about earlier, no one could deny that he definitely liked Ayumi. A lot, actually. "Heh …" I chuckled out and leaned my face into my hand. "I guess opposites don't always attract." He obviously didn't know, but I was referring to myself and Ayumi during our college times. Everything about the two of us was completely different from the other. Mochida laughed.

"Yeah. You know, when you're the only two Japanese students in the US, it's almost natural that you'd make a connection."

Er … What? The US? Where'd that come from? No seriously, where did that come from?!

"…The US?" I repeated, as calmly as I could, to just not make him suspicious. "Yeah, I thought she'd at least told you that. I met her while we both studied in America," he said, completely at ease. That was very different from what was happening inside of me. I was angry. I was confused. I was frustrated. I didn't know how to let it out.

"When?" I asked, squeezing the cup in my hand to control my emotions. "Hmm … She arrived the day before the semester started, so … Like the second week in June?" he said insecurely. I felt my eyes pop out of my skull. Ayumi dumped me June 5th. The second week in June… That was a week after. I wanted to scream at Mochida, even though I couldn't blame him. I wanted to go straight to their house and confront Ayumi. You know what … That idea was very tempting.

"Sorry, I …" I got up from the chair. "I'm just going to the restroom for a bit."

"Hello?"

"What the hell, Ayumi?!"

There. I let it out. The questions that had ran through my head had filled me even more with rage. Is her studies the reason for why she broke up with me? Couldn't we still be together? Maybe I'm being stupid … It must've been because I'd crossed the line the day before, like I've always believed. But if that's not the case … Does that mean that she's still in love with me? My fingers clutched into my phone when I heard her voice again.

"… What?" Her voice was surprisingly hoarse.

"Why didn't you tell me?! I literally thought you'd disappeared for 6 years straight! You went to the US and didn't even tell me!" Everything I'd held back just burst out. She didn't answer right away. At first I thought it was because I was being unclear, but she eventually let out her voice.

"So you found out through Satoshi, huh? So he's with you."

It took a couple of seconds before she continued.

"It wouldn't have worked out anyway."

I got pissed when I heard that familiar line again. Even more so when I realized that she was acting differently than usual. She'd always been playfully cold, but this … Now she was just being unreasonably cold. Something was up.

"What's wrong?" I asked gently, putting my anger aside for a moment. At that moment, I was more concerned of her well-being instead of my selfish desires. To my surprise, she didn't hesitate to answer me this time.

"Satoshi slept with Naomi, for fuck's sake!"

At first, I thought she was joking. But then I remembered that Ayumi only swears when she's very passionate. Right after that, I remembered back to something Naomi said after our very unsuccessful date.

Seriously, here I was thinking that I could finally get laid twice in a row!

Wait… So that's what she meant?! How gross! I thought it was weird that he stayed the entire night at her place. I mean, obviously something must've happened! I wanted to apologize, but more than anything, I wanted to reassure her. "Um … He visited me while I was at work. Did he run away or something?" I asked. "Yeah basically," she answered, close to choking up. "I found some really … weird texts between him and Naomi. I questioned him about it and he immediately admitted it and apologized. I got pissed obviously, so he just ran out. Even though I forgive him, I … it made me realize something."

I held my breath, my heart dropping to my stomach when she finished.

"What I'm doing with you … It's even worse. And I'm scared of losing someone as great as Satoshi, so …"

"No, you're not."

I knew what was coming. For the 100th time, she's going to reject me. Tell me that she won't see me anymore. Maybe it's for real this time. I don't know how that exactly makes me feel. I just know that I don't want it to happen. Before she could speak any further, I stopped her with my own words.

"You're scared of falling in love with me again."

It might've sounded cocky or stuck up, but to me it was clear that that was the reason. For Ayumi, she can't be friends with me. Either I'm her lover or I just don't exist in her life at all. "That's why you dumped me without explaining, right?" I continued. "You just wanted to forget me, huh? You loved every minute with me! You can't forget me, Ayumi! I know you can't!"

The silence that followed felt like a post-apocalyptic world. It was silent on the other end. On my end too. I didn't think I had anything left to say, but Ayumi had after many slow seconds.

"… I didn't want to make it difficult for you."

That was the most sincere and honest explanation she'd told me. I listened to her quiet and long answer.

"If I told you that I was going to the US to study, you would definitely want to join me. I know you Yoshiki, don't try to deny it. If you were to join me without any plan and without money, I would just feel guilty. So I thought I'd just … end our relationship as soon as possible. After one last day together. That obviously went awful."

I shivered when I thought back on that day. It was the first time I'd felt genuine fury and fear.

"When we started meeting again completely unplanned, I had already lost." Her voice sounded completely broken, for the first time. "You drew me in, because you took me so far back to those days in college where I was completely free from worries and burdens. Especially after seeing how much you had grown. And that smell …"

Ah … She remembers.

"Red Mustang. The moment I felt that fragrance again, I …"

Feelings of hope and optimism overwhelmed me for only a second. She still has some sort of feelings for me, doesn't she? That's what I thought. For just a second.

"Sorry, but this is the end. Bye."

sA/N: Oh boy … Hope to see you in the next chapter ;3